Tag Archives: team

For 12 years, Petschauer Insurance has committed to annual team building outings so that all employees have a chance to develop professionally. JP, our founder, always invested in being honest and having integrity when he related to his staff and clients. We are honoring and promoting his legacy and brand by honing our collaboration and communication skills during this outing.

Our day began with an active discussion led by Dr. Josie Palleja, our management consultant. She engaged us by asking each person to reflect on what their personal brand was. She helped us think about our values and how we act out those values. We were each able to define our personal brand.

She then led us in an active conversation about our coping skills. Everyone spoke about how they coped with stress, confusion, and frustrating situations. We then wrote down what strategies we would use to manage these challenges in a positive way. Afterwards, we were then anchored with our emotional intelligence and strategies to handle what we were going to face in the day ahead.

We made our way to “Artrageous,” a studio for ceramics and painting activities. We picked out the items we wanted to work with, then coordinated the design, colors, and décor of our projects before starting. Immediately, we were presented with the challenge of having to make decisions quickly.

At “Artrageous,” Dr. Josie had 2 staff members work with us. She previously arranged with them to provide us with conflicting instructions. The first staff member gave us one set of instructions and then immediately after that, the second staff member gave us conflicting instructions. All the while, we were held to very specific and tightly timed deadlines so we could complete each individual task. We were challenged to engage our emotional intelligence and collaboration skills so we could remain positive and focused through some frustrating and confusing experiences.

You could feel the Petschauer team really collaborating amid confusion and conflicting direction. Some in our group acted quickly and were more hands on, while others took a step back to reflect and assess the situation before responding.

Our communication was open, positive, and supportive while we shared creative ideas, suggestions, and offered assistance to any teammates. The clock was ticking. As we approached our time limit, we were all helping each other. Sounds of laughter and singing were in the air while everyone finished their projects. Our mosaic pieces were unique, interesting, bright and just simply fabulous!

When we debriefed about our experiences, it was clear that the outing gave each of us at JPI an opportunity to use our emotional intelligence. Did our strategies work? When we experienced challenging situations, did we respond the way we thought we would have? Amazingly enough, each of us found we stayed true to our personal brands. We all had the opportunity to share what we learned about ourselves, how we dealt with challenges, and what kind of decision-making process we exercised.

Overall, the emotional and intellectual muscles we flexed throughout the day helped us learn that we can meet the needs of our clients by communicating in a clear, positive, and effective way.

At Petschauer Insurance, we always aim to provide our clients with the best information to help them make good decisions for themselves, their families, and/or businesses. Our goal is to build trusting relationships that will last a very long time.

For the past decade here at Petschauer Insurance, we have used our annual outings for team building and professional development. We always strive to stay current with how to best meet the needs of our clients and communicate in the most professional way. This year for staff building we focused on collaboration and clear communication while professionally focusing on how to use our emotional intelligence.

As always, our professional management consultant Dr. Josie Palleja led us through fun exercises as we took a cooking class held at A La Carte Cooking School. We were instructed by two master chefs on how to prepare and cook a full meal: an appetizer, salad, main dish and dessert. Throughout our cooking instructions we were presented with many challenges that were meant to develop our listening and communication skills. We were placed in teams and when we arrived at our cooking stations the menus were on the table. Dr. Josie mixed up the recipes so they were not what we thought we were going to cook. As you can imagine, there was a moment of confusion. Each team had to clarify the information they heard and then ask the other teams for help to complete the assignment. Clear communication and collaboration got us to back on track to get started.

Our next challenge was the actual cooking. Here is where we practiced using our emotional intelligence….. i.e. being self-aware of what you are good at and not so good at, being mindful of staying mentally present and not getting distracted, and knowing what your teammates’ strengths and challenges are. Each team worked together by sharing their skills, expressing their comfort levels in the kitchen and being open to try something they had never done before. At times we were all amazed at how comfortable we had become with cutting vegetables, sauteing chicken, even plating a dessert.

After we ate our delicious meal we all took turns sharing what we learned about ourselves during this outing. Some of us spoke about facing our fears and openly acknowledging them without any judgment. Others spoke about learning to feel comfortable to ask for help. While others realized how important it is to listen carefully, take instructions, and to also accept that mistakes happen. The truth is everyone has fears and challenges that we must each accept and help each other overcome.

Everyone at JPI learned how important it is to turn a challenge into a positive by using our emotional awareness. With these new skills being applied in the office, we are now more aware and present for you, attentive to your needs so we can put together an insurance program that fits your needs, and communicating with you in a clear, concise, and positive manner. As always we will give you good information to help you make the best insurance decisions for yourself, your family or your business.

We would like to thank you for being patient while we took time out of our work day to improve on being the best insurance consultants we can be. Thank you!

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Ask Sherri
Do you have an insurance question? If so, e-mail it here and our insurance professional Sherri will give you the scoop on all you need to know. Your question might also appear in our Ask Sherri video series!

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